Athletic Monitoring System And Method

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed for monitoring the athletic performance of a user while also providing the user with entertainment such as an outputting of music. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure. A performance engine may be located within the enclosure and may utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a performance metric like current speed, distance traveled, or cadence. The system may also include an audio and/or a visual output mechanism such as a speaker assembly or a display device. The output mechanism may be capable of presenting the performance metric to a user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/400,516, filed on Apr. 7, 2006 and entitled “Athletic MonitoringSystem and Method,” which in turn is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No.7,062,225, issued Jun. 13, 2006, which in turn is a continuation U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/794,137, filed Mar. 5, 2004 (abandoned),the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to athletic equipment, and moreparticularly, to a system and method for monitoring the athleticperformance of a user while simultaneously entertaining the user.

BACKGROUND

Many athletes attempt to track their performance. For example, runnersoften want to know how far and how quickly they have run. Bicyclistsoften want to know how quickly they are peddling. In some situation,bicyclists make use of bicycle computers that act as speedometers,odometers, and cadence counters. These devices typically receiveinformation from sensors mounted with respect to the moving elements ofa bicycle and convert this information into a bike speed value or someother desired metric. Many of these conventional bicycle computers arespecial purpose devices that have a display and are fixed to thehandlebars of a bicycle to allow a rider to view displayed informationwhile riding.

In addition to the bicycle-related information mentioned above—namelyspeed, distance, and cadence—some conventional bicycle computers andpedometers may also display the current time and/or heart rateinformation for the rider or runner. While these conventional systemsrepresent a nice option for many, these systems have severalshortcomings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a cycling information system thatincorporates teachings of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cut away view of a cellular telephone incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure in order to act as a computingdevice for monitoring athletic activity; and

FIG. 3 presents a flow diagram for a cycling performance trackingprocess incorporating teachings of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments discussed below describe, in part, different approaches formonitoring athletic performance. Though many of the embodimentsdiscussed below focus on systems in which the athletic performanceincludes bicycling, other activities may also be monitored in accordancewith the teachings disclosed herein. For example, runners may benefitfrom the systems and processes described below. A runner and/or walkermay employ the teachings disclosed herein to provide an improvedpedometer that may, for example, display steps taken, provide customizeddistance and calories burned calculations, and include time/dateinformation and/or a stopwatch feature. In some cases, a pedometer mayshow personalized distance covered and calories burned information,which may have been calculated by taking into account a user's stridelength and/or weight.

In several embodiments, a computing device is used as part of themonitoring system, and this computing device is described as having widearea wireless communication functionality. For example, the device maybe capable of acting as a cellular telephone or some other wirelesscommunication device, including, for example, other telephonic devices,smart telephones, personal digital assistants (PDA's), orBlackberry™-like electronic mail devices. Including some wide areacommunication capability in performance tracking computing devices mayprovide athletes with a cost effective and convenient way to protectthemselves.

As mentioned above, cycling is an example of an athletic activity thatmay be monitored. In practice, prudent cyclists may elect to carry awireless telephone with them while cycling. If a tire goes flat, if thecyclist has or witnesses an accident, and/or if someone needs to get ahold of the cyclist, the wireless telephone may prove invaluable. Such aprudent cyclist may elect to carry the telephone in a pocket located onthe back of his or her cycling jersey or a catch-all bag located on theseat post under the saddle. Many cyclists consider either location to besub-optimal. Carrying the phone in the jersey pocket may be annoying andmay make it difficult to know if someone is calling. While using acatch-all bag may remove some of the annoyance, it may also make it evenmore difficult to know if someone is calling.

Many of the same cyclists that bring a telephone with them on long ridesmay also have a bicycle computer fixed to the handlebars of their bike.The cyclist may have paid hundreds of dollars for the telephone andhundreds of dollars for the computer. And, by fixing the computer to thebicycle, the cyclist may unwittingly enhance the likelihood that thecomputer is stolen. If, for example, the cyclist leaves the bicycleunattended for some period of time, the cyclist may return to find thecomputer missing.

By employing the teachings disclosed herein, cyclists may able to choosea bike computer that has wide area wireless communication capabilities.In some embodiments, the bicycle computers may actually be embodied incellular telephones or other wireless communication devices. Forexample, a system incorporating teachings of the present disclosure mayprovide a cradle securable to a bicycle and capable of releasablycoupling with a wireless telephone that has bicycle computercapabilities. The cradle may provide a better place for carrying atelephone while cycling. The cradle may also make it easier for cycliststo leave their bike unattended without fear of having their bicyclecomputer stolen. Cyclists may simply disengage their telephones from thecradle and take the phones with them.

In some embodiments, the cradle may also be capable of triggering thetelephone to switch into a bike computer mode and further capable offacilitating communication of bike information from a sensor to thetelephone. For example, the cradle may be physically connected or wiredto one or more sensors tracking the movement of a bicycle component. Bycradling the telephone, the information communicated from sensors to thecradle may be passed along to a processor in the telephone. In additionto the many above-referenced advantages, incorporating communicationcapabilities into a bicycle computer may also save the cyclistsmoney—they no longer need both a computer and a telephone.

As mentioned above, FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a cycling informationsystem 10 that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure. Asdepicted, system 10 may include, for example, a housing component 12 atleast partially defining an enclosure 14. A local area wirelesstransceiver 16 capable of receiving a signal from a sensor 18 coupled toa bicycle (not shown) may be located within enclosure 14. A performanceengine 20 may also be located within enclosure 14 and may becommunicatively coupled to local area wireless transceiver 16. Inoperation, performance engine 20 may utilize a signal from sensor 18 togenerate a performance metric like current speed, distance traveled, orcadence.

To facilitate communication of performance metric information to a user,system 10 may also include an output mechanism such as display device 22associated with the housing component. An output mechanism like displaydevice 22 may be capable of presenting the performance metric to a user.In preferred embodiments, the system may also include a wide areawireless transceiver 24 located within enclosure 14. Wide area wirelesstransceiver 24 may allow the user to send and receive information acrossa geographically disperse network such as a cellular telephone network.In operation, a user may want to place a telephone call and may usetransceiver 24 to “connect” to a cellular network node 26. This“connection” may involve Radio Frequency (RF) communication thatcomplies with some wide-area RF technology like CDMA, GPRS, EDGE, or3GSM.

Whatever the form factor of the computing device, a user may want thedevice to be rugged. A typical cellular telephone, for example, may nothandle the abuse generated while running, cycling, and/or performingsome other activity. As such, a cellular telephone incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure may enjoy a more rugged and/or waterresistant design. Additionally, a user may desire to interact with thedevice and may do so using one or more of several types of inputmechanisms including, for example, a microphone 28, a touch screen,keypad, and toggle disks 30. In operation, a microphone assembly 28associated with computing device 32 may be capable of receiving voicecommands, a mouse mechanism (not shown) may allow a user to point andclick icons on a display screen, and/or a touch screen may facilitatereceiving inputs from a stylus.

Depending on implementation detail, computing device 32 may have any ofseveral components located within enclosure 14. For example, computingdevice 32 may include a microprocessor and a memory located within itscavity. In some embodiments, the memory may hold an application thatembodies the performance engine and converts information received viaone or more remote sensors like sensor 18 into a performance metric likespeed, distance, cadence, etc. As shown, sensor 18 may include a pick-up34 that “recognizes” movement of a bicycle component. Pick-up 34 may betracking wheel revolutions, crank revolutions, front and/or rearderailer motion, bike and/or body tipping, and/or some combinationthereof. The tracking mechanism of pick-up 34 may take several forms. Itmay be optical, magnetic, mechanical, etc. To facilitate presentation ofperformance metric information to the user, sensor 18 may include alocal area wireless communication module 36, which may make use, forexample, of Bluetooth technology. Sensor 18 may also rely on wiredconnections in addition and/or in lieu of wireless connections tocommunicate with device 32.

As mentioned above, a bicycle computer like computing device 32 mayinclude any of several different components. For example, it may have awireless wide area transceiver 24, which may be part of a multi-deviceplatform for communicating data using RF technology across a largegeographic area. The platform may be a GPRS, EDGE, or 3GSM platform, forexample, and may include multiple integrated circuit (IC) devices or asingle IC device. Similarly, bicycle computer 32 may have a wirelesslocal area transceiver 16, which may communicate using spread-spectrumradio waves in a 2.4 GHz range, 5 GHz range, or other suitable range.Wireless local area transceiver 16 may also be part of a multi-device orsingle device platform and may facilitate communication of data usinglow-power RF technology across a smaller geographic area.

For example, if wireless local area transceiver 16 includes a Bluetoothtransceiver, the transceiver may have a communication range havingapproximately a one hundred foot radius. If the wireless local areatransceiver includes an 802.11 (x) transceiver, such as an 802.11(b) orWi-Fi transceiver, the transceiver may have a communication range havingapproximately a one thousand foot radius.

One skilled in the art will also recognize that wireless local areatransceiver 16 and wireless wide area transceiver 24 may be separate orpart of the same chipset. For example, a bike computer chipset maypackage a Bluetooth, an 802.11(b), and a GSM cellular technology, likeGPRS, into a single chipset. In many embodiments, the bike computer mayalso include display device 22, which may be operable to present agraphical user interface (GUI) to a user. In an embodiment where thebike computer can also operate as a telephone, the telephone may includea speaker assembly 38. The telephone may also be executing a localsoftware application to allow the telephone to receive an inputindicating a desire to toggle from a telephone mode to a bike computermode. In such an embodiment, the bike computer may include acomputer-readable medium having computer-readable data to direct awireless telephone processor to receive a signal from a sensorindicating some physical activity, to utilize the signal to generate aperformance metric, and to initiate presentation of a rendering of theperformance metric on a display device.

In some embodiments, a bike computer like device 32 may include a globalpositioning system (GPS) component that facilitates location-based andtracking functionality. Device 32 may also include a Bluetooth modulethat sniffs for other Bluetooth-enabled devices. This sniffing may allowdevice 32 to “find” sensor 18. It may also allow device 32 to findheadset 40. If device 32 recognizes a headset or athletic activitysensor as a Bluetooth-enabled device, device 32 may engage in a processto “pair” with the identified device(s).

In an embodiment that includes a headset like headset 40, it may beadvantageous to enhance computing device 32 by adding a built in audioplayer capable of playing a playable file format like .WAV, MP3, MIDI,.AU, and/or some other format. As such, a cyclist or other athlete maybe able to listen to music via headset 40 while performing. In practice,device 32 may be simultaneously functioning: as a bikecomputer—displaying information like speed and cadence; as an MP3player—outputting music or other audio signals to the user; and, as awireless communication device—providing the user with the ability tosend and receive information.

In practice, headset 40 may include a battery 42, wireless transceiver44, a speaker assembly 46, and a microphone assembly 48. Though system10 includes a device 32 with a display 22, which facilitates thecommunication of performance information to the user, some systems mayelect to enhance and/or replace the visual presentation approach with anaudible or speech based interface. As such, a user may be able to “ask”device 32 a question by speaking into microphone assembly 48. Forexample, a user may ask “what is my current cadence?”, and device 32 mayrespond with “your cadence is 82.”

Such features may simplify operation of a device like device 32.Additional ease of use may be added by including various GUI icons ondisplay 22. For example, GUI icon 50 may be used to indicate that device32 is in bike computer mode, and GUI icon 52 may be used to indicatethat device 32 has recognized the existence of an incoming call. Assuch, a user listening to music from device 32 on headset 40 may havethe option of pausing the music and answering the telephone call.

Though described above in a cycling application where device 32 can becradled in cradle 54, device 32 may also be used by runners and othersport enthusiasts. Device 32 may receive and/or generate a signalindicating that a step has been taken by a user and convert this signalinto a presentable sport's metric. Occasionally, a user may not want toutilize cradle 54. The user may want some level of flexibility inlocating device 32. A user may, for example, want to secure device 32 toan arm with a mounting system 55, which may include an elastic strap 56and a rubberized device holder portion 58. The strap and holder portionmay be formed of other materials and may include some claspingmechanism. In some embodiments, device 32 may have some sensitivity tomoisture, and the mounting portion may surround device 32—insulatingdevice 32 from contacting the user's skin, while providing sufficientsupport and access to some or all of the Input/Output mechanisms ofdevice 32.

As described above, device 32 may operate as a bicycle computer, an MP3player, and a cellular telephone. As such, device 32 may be veryattractive to an avid cyclist. If the cyclist elects to take up runningor begins training for a triathlon, the cyclist may want device 32 to beexpandable—to be capable of accepting new and/or different performancemonitoring functions or modules. The cyclist turned triathlete may nowwant device 32 to operate as a pedometer. The cyclist may also want toadd other useful features to device 32. For example, a cyclist may wantdevice 32 to act as a garage door opener. If the cyclist begins a ridefrom home and stores her bicycle in the garage, the cyclist may want toclose the garage door behind her. As such, the cyclist may want device32 to act as a garage door remote—communicating an open and/or close RFsignal to a garage door opener.

As mentioned above, bike computer 32 may include or be capable ofexecuting software applications, which may be coded, for example, as aBREW application or a Java application. In some embodiments, the bikecomputer functionality may be implemented by a Java application that wasdownloaded over the air and may be executing on a computing device'soperating system (OS), which may be a Symbian OS, Pocket PC,Linux-based, a Palm OS, or other suitable computing device OS.

As an example of one potential application/OS combination, a developermay decide to develop a Java-based bike computer application for aSymbian OS-based computing device, which may be a cellular telephone orsmart phone. The process of developing a Java application for theSymbian platform may include three main steps: (1) developing the Javacode and supporting files, sound graphics, etc. which may, in somecases, be tested on an emulator; (2) creating the files to deploy theapplication to a Symbian interface so that it has a GUI icon and can berun from a native interface; and (3) packaging the application elementsin a release file.

As indicated above, smart client applications may be written in Java andrun on a wide range of devices. For a smart client application with Javaon the client device, there may be two preferred options of Javaplatforms: Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) and Java 2 Micro Edition(J2ME). Applications based on J2SE are often standalone Javaapplications, usually using Personal Java. Personal Java is a subset ofJ2SE with a smaller Java Runtime Environment (JRE) suitable for thelimited storage capacity of hand-held computing devices. Java VirtualMachines (JVMs) based on J2SE may be available for a wide variety ofclient devices including Pocket PC, Symbian OS, Linux and Palm OSdevices.

In some embodiments, a bike computer file or application may be based ona smaller version of the java platform, like MIDP, which may be betterfor small footprint devices like cellular handsets. Java applicationsthat run on MIDP devices are called MIDlets, and a MIDlet suite is agrouping of MIDlets that can share resources at runtime. A suite usuallyincludes at least two separate files. The first may be a JavaApplication Descriptor (JAD), which may be a file that tells theApplication Management Software (AMS), the piece of software on thehardware responsible for managing J2ME applications, how to handle thecontroller application. The JAD file may provide instructions for, amongother things, installation, identification, and retrieval. The secondmay be a Java Archive (JAR), which may be a collection of the controllerapplication's compiled byte classes, resources, and manifest files.

Occasionally and as mentioned above, a user may have an existingcellular telephone and may want to download a bike computer applicationcapable of “turning” the cell phone into a bike computer. Thisapplication may, in some cases, be downloadable Over The Air (OTA) froma Web server-like environment. As such, users may be able to “HTTP”their way to the URL where the JAD file resides. In such embodiments, acomputing device-side browser may download the bike computer applicationinto the Applications folder and test it.

A more detailed picture of a wireless enabled device 60 that may beoperable as a bicycle computer is shown in FIG. 2. As described above inthe brief description of the figures, FIG. 2 depicts a cut away view ofa cellular telephone incorporating teachings of the present disclosurein order to act as a computing device for monitoring athletic activity.To operate as an athletic monitor, telephone 60 may be a ruggedizedphone designed for athletes. It may have better water resistantcapabilities and handle impacts and jostling better than othertelephones. Telephone 60 may have a clam-shell design or a “candy bar”design as shown. Though not shown in FIG. 2, telephone 60 may alsoinclude special branding and/or markings to indicate that it is an“Athlete” phone. For example, a cellular telephone manufacturer mayelect to place an Ironman™ logo on the phone or some other appropriatelogo to let user's know that the phone is athlete-ready or capable ofoperating in a performance monitoring mode.

In the depicted embodiment, telephone 60 includes several integratedcircuits on a circuit board, an antenna 62, and a liquid crystal display64 presenting a bicycle computer display image 67. The components oftelephone 60 could include any of several combinations of components. Asdepicted, telephone 60 includes a wide area wireless platform 66, whichmay be, for example, a GPRS and/or CDMA module. As shown, platform 66includes a wide area wireless transceiver 68, front end circuitry 70,and dual core processor 72. Front end circuitry 70 may help ensure thatthe baseband electronics will work well with transceiver 68. Dual coreprocessor 72 may include, for example, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP)core as well as RISC or ARM capabilities. In some embodiments, thecomponents of telephone 60 may use dedicated hardware and DSP firmwareto help provide advanced functionality.

Platform 60 may be communicatively coupled to an application engine 74,which could be, for example, a Dragonball processor, and a power circuit76, which may manage among other things a battery circuit 78. In someembodiments, battery circuit 78 may keep track of the power availablefrom battery 80. Application engine 74 may be communicatively coupled toseveral different components and may provide those components withadditional processing capabilities. Example components may include alocal area RF transceiver 82, which may be Bluetooth-enabled, Wi-Fienabled, etc. Other components might be an image sensor 84, memorymodule 86, and peripheral controller 88, which may manage keypad, LCD,CODEC, IrDA, and other functionality. One skilled in the art willrecognize that the many of the above described components could becombined or broken out into other combinations and that the memory couldinclude onboard and added memory components including RAM, Flash, smartmedia, and others.

As mentioned above, FIG. 3 presents a flow diagram for a cyclingperformance tracking process 90 incorporating teachings of the presentdisclosure. At step 92, a manufacturer, programmer, and/or user mayprocure a programmable wireless device. An application for monitoringathletic performance may be developed at step 94. The athleticperformance may include cycling, running, swimming, lifting, etc. Insome embodiments, the application may be made available, at step 96, fordownload from the Public Internet, over the air via a wireless network,from a local computer, or in some other manner.

At step 98, the application may be loaded on the wireless device, andthe wireless device may be located at step 100 proximate an activitysensor capable of communicating a signal indicating some activity. Atstep 102, the device may receive a signal form the proximate sensor. Inpreferred embodiments, the sensor and the device may be part of apiconet. In some embodiments, the sensor may actually be a part of thedevice.

At step 104, the device may utilize the developed application togenerate a performance metric from the sensor signal. The performancemetric may be presented to the user at step 106. The presentation may begraphical in nature and may make use of a display associated with thewireless device. The presentation could also be auditory in nature andspoken or played to the user.

In some embodiments, the device may include a memory and may save someportion of the performance metric data in that memory. And, the saveddata may be retrievable by a different device. For example, a user mayhave a computer at home capable of retrieving the performance metricdata either directly and/or indirectly from the device. Indirectretrieval may involve, for example, utilizing the Public Internet toretrieve the information. Depending on implementation detail, theperformance tracking device may communicate the saved metric data as anattachment to an electronic mail message.

For example, if the device is operable as a smartphone and capable ofcommunicating voice calls and data calls, a user of the device may electto share the metric data with a friend and/or other device via a widearea cellular network using. In some cases, the performance metric datamay include GPS and/or other location identifying data. As such, theuser may be able to generate a visual and plotted representation of thetracked performance. A software application may take the performancemetric information and associated GPS information as an input and outputa map that displays a performance route and performance metricinformation for various points along the route. In some cases, theperformance metric information and associated GPS information mayactually be converted into an animated sequence by an animatorapplication. As such, the user may be capable of “watching” herperformance.

At step 108, the wireless device may receive an indication of anincoming telephone call or data call. The device may indicate theexistence of this call to the user, and the user may elect to acceptand/or participate in the call at step 110. As mentioned above, the callmay be a voice call or a data call. The call may take the form, forexample, of an email, a telephone call, an Instant Messaging message, aShort Messaging Service message, a Multimedia Messaging Service message,some other form, and/or a combination thereof.

Whatever the messaging form, the user may elect not to accept themessage or may complete his or her interaction with the message. Assuch, the user may terminate the call at step 112 and resume use of theperformance monitoring application and/or launch a different applicationlike an MP3 player.

In various embodiments, the telephones, computers, devices, and/orengines, described above, may take forms including wireless and cordlessphones, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, mobiletelephones, laptop computers, hardware, firmware, software, otheroptions having some level of computing capability, and/or a combinationthereof.

The methods and systems described herein provide for an adaptableimplementation. Although certain embodiments have been described usingspecific examples, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe invention is not limited to these few examples. Note also, thatalthough certain illustrative embodiments have been shown and describedin detail herein, along with certain variants thereof, many other variedembodiments may be constructed by those skilled in the art.

The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) thatmay cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeature or element of the present invention. Accordingly, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forthherein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives,modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within thespirit and scope of the invention as provided by the claims below.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerousmodifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appendedclaims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this present invention.

1. A computing device comprising: a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure; a memory located at least partially within the enclosure; a set of performance engine instructions stored in the memory and configured to utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric; an audio file player located within the enclosure; an audio output device configured to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file played by the audio file player; a display configured to output a map to display a performance route and at least one of the first and second performance metrics using GPS data; and a wide area wireless transceiver located within the enclosure and operable to receive an incoming telephone call, wherein the audio output device is operable to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the first audio output signal in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call.
 2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the audio output device is further configured to output a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric, the second audio output signal output responsive to a user request.
 3. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising an application configured to receive the first and second performance metrics and the GPS data and output the map.
 4. The computing device of claim 3, wherein the application is configured to convert the GPS data and the first and second performance metrics to an animated sequence.
 5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to download an application including the set of performance engine instructions.
 6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the computing device includes a GPS device to provide the GPS data.
 7. The computing device of claim 2, further comprising a bicycle motion sensor that is the motion sensor, wherein the bicycle motion sensor is operable to communicate the signal across an interface selected from a group consisting of a wired interface and a wireless interface.
 8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first performance metric and the second performance metric are each selected from a group consisting of a cadence metric, a speed metric, a heart rate performance metric, a time metric, a calories burned metric, and a distance metric and further wherein the system utilizes a GPS device to sense movement.
 9. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising a local area wireless transceiver and a heart rate sensor operable to communicate heart rate information for the user to the local area wireless transceiver, wherein the set of performance engine instructions are further operable to utilize the heart rate information to generate a heart rate performance metric.
 10. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising a toggle disk to enable user interaction with the performance monitoring system.
 11. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising an application loaded in the performance monitoring system, wherein the application is downloaded over the air via the wide area wireless transceiver.
 12. A method comprising: (a) receiving a collection of performance metric information from a device storing the collection, wherein the device comprises: a housing component at least partially defining an enclosure; a memory located at least partially within the enclosure; a set of performance engine instructions stored in the memory and configured to utilize a signal from a motion sensor to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric; an audio file player located within the enclosure; an audio output device configured to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file played by the audio file player; a display configured to output a map to display a performance route and at least one of the first and second performance metrics using GPS data; and a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the device is operable to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the first audio output signal in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call; and (b) generating a viewable representation of the collection.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the device is to output a second audio output signal representing a spoken reporting of the first performance metric and the second performance metric.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the device includes an application configured to receive the first and second performance metrics and the GPS data and output the map.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the collection of performance metric information is indirectly received from the device, further wherein the indirect receipt comprises at least one communication via the Public Internet.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising allowing a first user to share at least a portion of a first user collection of performance metric information with a different user via a wide area cellular network.
 17. A performance monitoring system comprising: a computer readable medium storing instructions to direct a cellular telephone to generate a first performance metric and a second performance metric that are based at least in part on a signal generated by a motion sensing device; and wherein the cellular telephone comprises an audio output mechanism to output a first audio output signal representing an audio file being played by the cellular telephone, a GPS component to facilitate location-based and tracking functionality, a display configured to display a performance route and at least one of the first and second performance metrics using GPS data from the GPS component, and a wide area wireless transceiver operable to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein the cellular telephone is configured to indicate the existence of the incoming telephone call and to pause the audio file in connection with an answering of the incoming telephone call.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the cellular telephone is configured to download a set of performance engine instructions to generate the first and second performance metrics and to store the set of performance engine instructions in the computer readable medium.
 19. The system of claim 17, further comprising a different computer readable medium storing instructions to direct a personal computer to receive a collection of performance metric information from the cellular telephone and to send an update that comprises a modified set of performance engine instructions to the cellular telephone.
 20. The system of claim 17, further comprising a mounting system for securing the motion sensing device to a human body part, including a mechanism that secures the mounting system to the human body part and a device holder portion formed such that the motion sensing device at least partially fits within the device holder portion. 